March 2013 Outcrop

OUTCROPNewsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 62 • No. 3 • March 2013

March 20132Vol. 62, No. 2 2

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The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists910 16th Street • Suite 1125 • Denver, CO 80202 • 303-573-8621

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OUTCROP

President – Debra Higley-Feldman [email protected]

President-Elect – Matt Silverman [email protected]

1st Vice-President – Larry Rasmussen [email protected]

2nd Vice-President – Laura Mauro Johnson [email protected]

Secretary – Jacinda Nettik Brown [email protected]

Treasurer – Mike Kozimko [email protected]

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2013 Officers and Board of Directors

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The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists910 16th Street, Suite 1125• Denver, CO 80202

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March 20134Vol. 62, No. 2

3D Seismic Symposium's 19th Anniversary

President’s ColumnBy Debra Higley

March 5th marks the 19th anniversary of the 3D Seismic Symposium. Hosted by the Denver Geophysical Society and RMAG, this cooperative event meshes geological and geophysical science of new and classic resource plays, technological diversity, and some fabulous 3D images and interpretations. It is fascinating how minor modifications in the properties of the 3D cubes can change the characteristics and resulting conclusions from seismic data.

Particularly for those of us that live in the subsurface (at least in terms of our science), our research is commonly data and data-interpretation intensive. The U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered resources for basins across the US and the World utilizes some fairly massive proprietary well history and petroleum production databases in our

Total Petroleum System (TPS) methodology. As is the case with seismic interpretation, quality of data can vary widely. Well and production data for the Denver Basin Province is fairly clean, and cozy. If you play with data and basins long enough you can develop a fondness. Even though there are more than 45,000 oil and (or) gas productive wells in the Denver Basin Province, the vast majority of these produce from Cretaceous reservoirs; Paleozoic exploration and production is scattered, and recently increasing, near the fringes of the petroleum-productive basin. There are almost no deep well data within the basin (more Denver Basin seismic publications would be helpful). In comparison, the Anadarko Basin Province is very mature with more than four times the

number of producing wells than the Denver Basin Province, and the vast majority of these are from Paleozoic reservoirs; Cretaceous Niobrara Shale biogenic gas is present in the northwest basin. Data quality is more variable for the Anadarko Basin Province due ma in l y to repor ted commingling of production for multiple producing intervals and misnamed reser voir formations, which complicates assessment of current reserves and remaining resources (Higley and others, 2011). Further USGS assessment research

on the Denver Basin and Anadarko Basin provinces is accessible from http://energy.usgs.gov/, and future

Particularly for those of us that live in

the subsurface (at least in terms of our

science), our research is commonly data and

data-interpretation intensive.

March 5th marks the 19th anniversary of the 3D Seismic Symposium. Hosted by the Denver Geophysical Society and RMAG, this cooperative event meshes geological and geophysical science of new and classic resource plays, technological diversity, and some fabulous 3D images and interpretations...


Anadarko Basin research will include USGS DDS-69-EE, which is currently in review.

Should you be interested in the methodology behind USGS resources assessments, a few sources follow. These and other U.S. and World petroleum resource assessments utilize the TPS methodology (Magoon and Schmoker, 2000); TPS differs from play assessment methodology in its greater emphasis on petroleum sources. TPS is somewhat of a family tree, a genealogy of determining which petroleum source rock(s) fathered which current and potential future reservoir(s). Each TPS contains one or more assessment units (AU) that comprise the reservoir strata, or groups of strata, that are assigned based on a common petroleum source rock(s), contained reservoir unit(s), and major seals and other boundaries that vertically and laterally segregate oil and gas from other AUs. Incorporated into the assessments are areas that are thermally mature for oil and (or) gas generation. Some of these thermal maturation data are derived using the USGS Energy Geochemical Database (http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/prov/og/). Assessments are further divided into conventional and continuous (unconventional) accumulations (Charpentier and Cook, 2010). Production through time from existing fields is also incorporated as known and grown accumulation sizes (Klett and others, 2011).

ReferencesCharpentier, R.R., and Cook, T.A., 2010,

Improved USGS methodology for assessing continuous petroleum resources, version 2.0: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 547, 22 p. and program. Revised November 2012. http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/547/ (accessed 1/12/2013).

Higley, D. K., Gaswirth, S. B., Abbott, M. M., Charpentier, R. R., Cook, T. A., Ellis, G. S., Gianoutsos, N. J., Hatch, J. R., Klett, T. R., Nelson, Philip, Pawlewicz, M. J., Pearson, O. N., Pollastro, R. M., and Schenk, C. J., 2011, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Anadarko Basin province of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and Colorado, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2011–3003, 2 p. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3003/ (accessed 1/12/2013).

Klett, T.R., Attanasi, E.D., Charpentier, R.R., Cook, T.A., Freeman, P.A., Gautier, D.L., Le, P.A., Ryder, R.T., Schenk, C.J., Tennyson, M.E., and Verma, M.K., 2011, New U.S.

President's Column

Joseph H. Large President

www.rpmconsultinginc.com1600 Broadway, Suite 1510, Denver, CO 80202

(Office) 303 595 7625 | (Fax) 303 595 7628

Quality Mudlogging Geologic Interpretation

Horizontal Bakken, Mission Canyon, Red River,

Dupero, Three Forks and Ratcliff formations

Serving the Williston Basin and Rocky Mountain

Region

Wellsite Geology | Geo-Steering | Coring Supervision

Geological Survey method for the assessment of reserve growth: U.S. Geolog¬ical Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011- 5163, 8 p., accessed August 1, 2012, at http://pubs. usgs.gov/sir/2011/5163/ (accessed 1/12/2013)

Magoon, L.B., and Schmoker, J.W., 2000, The Total Petroleum System—The Natural Fluid Network that Constrains the Assessment Unit: U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000 – description and results: U.S. Geological Survey DDS-60, 4 CD-ROMs, 24 p. http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/WEcont/chaps/PS.pdf (accessed 1/12/2013).

»

March 20136Vol. 62, No. 2 6

The Board of Directors meeting was held on January 17th, 2013 in the RMAG office. This being the first board meeting of the year, we had a big agenda to cover. We began with a review of the Financial Report. The Summit Sponsorship program proved successful. It appears RMAG will beat their Summit Sponsor fundraising goal. Being a Summit Sponsor gives com-panies exposure while helping RMAG put on the symposia, short courses and speaker series. Summit Sponsors get recognition on the RMAG website, Outcrop, and monthly luncheon meetings. If your company would like to become a Summit Sponsor please contact the RMAG office for details.

RMAG Membership is currently at 1,323 paid and current members. There are an additional 1,144 expired members that were active in 2012. If you’re one of these expired members or perhaps your membership has lapsed by more than a couple years please check out the RMAG website, which makes it easy for members to renew or join RMAG.

2013 will be a busy year of RMAG sponsored events. The January 24th Short Course, Source-Rock Kinetics: New Methods of Determining Them, and Novel Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Especially Unconventional, by Doug Waples was well attended. This year the Summer Speaker series has been expanded to provide interesting talks throughout the year, not just limited to the summer months, so look for these

upcoming events. A motion was approved to invite Rusty Riese, AAPG Ethics Lecturer to speak in May; more details to come. Mark your calendars for the annual RMAG/DAPL GeoLand Ski Day, Friday, March 1st. This year RMAG will be hitting Copper Mountain Resort, the ski day is always a fun time. The 3D Seismic Symposium – Making Sounds Decisions is scheduled for March 5th. As the year goes on, I’ll highlight some of the upcoming events in more detail.

I mentioned in the last Outcrop, GeoScience World had contacted RMAG to discuss partnering to make RMAG publications available to their subscribers. The BOD had intended to make a decision at the January board meeting. However, GSW did not supply details on royalties and costs so this item was tabled until enough information is received to make an informed decision.

The Mountain Geologist published since 1964 is a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal for RMAG members and it goes digital in 2013. RMAG members will be able to access the digital journal with their RMAG login. However, our 200 subscribers will receive hard copies until the details of how universities, government libraries and industrial associates can access the data online are ironed out.

The February board meeting will be held at its normal time and location, February 20th at the RMAG office. I hope everyone’s 2013 projects are off to a great start.

RMAG January Board of Directors MeetingBy Jacinda Nettik Brown, Secretary ([email protected])

Being a Summit Sponsor gives

companies exposure while helping RMAG put on the symposia,

short courses and speaker series.


C O N T E N T S

OUTCROP

Volume 62 • No. 3 • March 2013

COVER PHOTOThe top of a Niobrara outcrop being measured by Kelly Bruchez

who is completing his Master’s in Geology with Dr. Steve Sonnenberg at the Colorado School of Mines. The outcrop is located along the Blue River on the Jones Ranch approximately 3.5 miles south of Kremmling, Colorado. A large version of the cover photo shown in its entirety is displayed on pages 35 and 36 of this issue. Photo by Larry Rasmussen.

Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Features 8 Lead Story: The Art of

Logging Horizontal Niobrara Wells in the Denver Basin

30 AAPG Awards Nominations43 USGS Rocky Mountain

Science Seminar

association news 9 Authors and Editors

Needed: RMAG Oil & Gas Fields of Colorado

12 RMAG Foundation Sponsors the Excellence in Teaching of Earth Science Award

13 Connect with RMAG Online!26 Editorial HELP Wanted31 "Making Sound Decisions,"

3-D Seismic Symposium 38 RMAG 2013 Summit

Sponsorship46 RMAG Source-rock Kinetics47 ATTENTION ADVERTISERS!48 Call for Abstracts/Speakers49 RMAG Advertising Rates

and Sizes

Departments 4 President's Column 6 RMAG January Board of

Directors Meeting 3, 9 Outcrop Advertising

Rates22 Moves and Gyrations24 In Memoriam:

Frank P. Sonnenberg

39 In the Pipeline 41 RMAG Luncheon Program 44 Letter to the Editor45 New Members50 Advertisers Index50 Calendar of Events

March 20138Vol. 62, No. 2

LEAD STORY

The Art of Logging Horizontal Niobrara Wells in the Denver BasinBy Janet Marks, Halcon Resources, Denver Colorado.

IntroductionMs. Marks has a BS from the University of Illinois and MS from the University of Wyoming. She formerly

performed mudlogged/well site geology on 33 horizontal wells throughout the Denver Basin for Columbine Logging from 2010-2012.

Ms. Marks has a BS from the University of Illinois and MS from the University of Wyoming. She formerly performed mudlogged/well site geology on 33 horizontal wells throughout the Denver Basin for Columbine Logging from 2010-2012.

She would l ike to thank Columbine Logging and the various operators for the time spent drilling Niobrara wells that allowed her to gain this knowledge.

This article was part of a presentation for the AAPG-RMS in Grand Junction, September 2012.

Relatively recently, horizontal dri l l ing into basin centered, continuous source rocks has exploded. Without pre-planning of the well path, it is easy to deviate from the formation sweet spots during drilling. Seismic and wellbore control are examined prior to drilling the borehole to anticipate any faults. Using all the available data, the well site geologist helps make timely critical decisions on the borehole path when drilling fast in real time.

Continued on page 10 »

Neil H. Whitehead, III Consulting Geologist

PhD CPG-AIPG PG WY

Rocky Mountain Basins

Wellsite to Petroleum Systems ArcGIS

303-679-8573 fax 303-679-8574 [email protected] 31634 Black Widow Way Conifer, CO 80433-9610

Calling the top of formations while drilling vertically and landing the intermediate casing within the exact part of the desired formation is important. After drilling horizontally out of the intermediate casing, it is necessary to know what bed within the formation the bit is located

in with respect to the target zone. The target is generally a 5-20 foot thick layer that has the greatest porosity, least gamma, and/or highest resistivity.

The well site geologist uses various tools to log crit ical geological data during real-time drilling of wells to provide formation evaluation, monitor dri l l ing performance and determine the location of the bit in the pay zone.

The following article shows examples from the stratigraphic section drilled to the Niobrara target as well as through the target interval.

During the time of Niobrara deposition (Upper Cretaceous; late Turonian-earliest Campanian), the continents experienced highstand eustatic sea levels worldwide resulting in shallow epicontintental seas including the Western Interior Sea. To the west in the Cordilleran region, the Sevier orogeny was causing subduction, volcanism and mountain building. Siliciclastic sedimentation and subsidence occurred in the western portion of the seaway. To the east was a relatively shallow shelf that was terrigenous sediment starved. Widespread pelagic and hemipelagic carbonate sedimentation rich in coccolith and planktonic foraminifera were deposited.

Without pre-planning of the well path, it is easy to deviate from the formation sweet spots during drilling.


The RMAG committee working on this publication has

selected 85 fields for review.

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Authors and Editors Needed: RMAG Oil & Gas Fields of Colorado!RMAG is working toward the publication of a

guidebook dedicated to short field studies of a set of selected oil and gas fields in Colorado. In large part the format will be similar to earlier publications of this type: a several page article that will include a one page summary with a small set of maps and cross-sections adequate to give the reader a lot of information in a short amount of time. The RMAG committee working on this publication has selected 85 fields for review. In addition, we expect to have extended discussion around several large “resource play” areas such as the Piceance Basin or the Greater Wattenberg complex including the recent horizontal Niobrara play.

The committee is currently looking for authors to do field studies and to put together material for publication. Each author may contribute one or multiple field studies. We will also need a group of editors for both technical and copy (grammatical and graphical) review.

Please volunteer! Committee contacts below:

Dean DuBois, Committee Chair; 720-876-5366 [email protected]

James Milne, 303- 894-2100 x5117 [email protected]

James Rogers, 303-832-2328 [email protected]

Steve Cumella, 720- 979-0718 [email protected]

Marshall Deacon, 303- 228-4215 [email protected]

Tom Feldkamp, 303- 228-4146 [email protected]

Chris Martin, 720- 440-6134 [email protected]

»

March 201310Vol. 62, No. 2

Lead StoryContinued from page 8


Cretaceous Transgressive/ Regressive Cycles

Figure 1: From Longman, Luneau, and Landon, 1998 The Niobrara Formation represents 4 large-scale, chalk rich sedimentary cycles reflecting synchronous transgressive/regressive pulses largely eustatic in origin (Scholle and Pollastro, 1985). These carbonate benches were thick enough to form regionally extensive, homogeneous chalk and marl sequences. G.K. Gilbert (1895) was the first to describe these rock. He also was first to recognize these cycles as likely related to periodic variations in the Earth’s orbit or what is now known as Milankovich cycles.


Spring PTTC Workshops Source Rocks 101 - What the Exploration Geologist, Geophysicist, and Production Engineer Should Know about Petroleum Source Rocks Thursday – Friday morning, March 7-8, 8:30 am – 5 pm Thursday and 8:30 – 12:30 Friday, Petroleum Club, Billings Montana Fee: $350 MGS Members, $375 Non-members, includes food, workbook, and PDH certificate. Instructor: Dr. Nick Harris, Associate Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Science, University of Alberta

This 1.5 day course will focus on course work the first day and participant provided data the second day. Source rocks are the foundation of the petroleum system. This course will provide a succinct overview of the characteristics of source rocks, the processes involved in source rock deposition and hydrocarbon generation and how to evaluate source rocks. Attendees will learn through lecture and exercises how to evaluate and predict source rock quality and the amount and quality of hydrocarbons generated from these source rocks. Topics to be covered: What is a source rock? How do you evaluate a source rock? Relationship between source rock type and the hydrocarbons they generate. Models for source rock deposition. The role of thermal history in source rock generation and migration will be discussed.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own source rock data (TOC/pyrolysis, etc.) to work through Friday morning. Data that can be worked in a class example is preferred, but instructor will be available to work though data on an individual basis as well.

Tectonic History of the Rocky Mountain Region Thursday, April 4, 2013, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Colorado School of Mines, Ben Parker Student Center Ballroom A Fee: $250; Includes: refreshments, workbook, and PDH certificate Instructor: Dr. Chuck Kluth, Colorado School of Mines This one day short course will review the tectonic framework and history of the Rocky Mountain region. It will begin with a short review of tectostratigraphic analysis and tectonic maps. The tectonic analysis will begin at the bottom of the geologic column with a brief discussion of the basement underpinnings of the region and Lower Paleozoic cratonic-shelf setting. These shelf deposits are variably preserved in the region but in some areas provide hydrocarbon reservoirs. This cratonic-shelf was interrupted by crustal-scale intraplate deformation in the late Paleozoic, that resulted in widespread development of the Greater Ancestral Rocky Mountains. The uplifts produced arkosic sediments but the voluminous Late Paleozoic sands are from a distal source. The early Mesozoic represents a return to the stable cratonic-shelf that, in late Jurassic, begins to reflect orogeny to the west. The data support the presence of a low-dipping subduction zone along the western plate margin that resulted in crustal shortening and the development of the Cordilleran thrust belt and the basement-cored 'Laramide' Rocky Mountain uplifts and basins. Hydrocarbons, generated by the earliest subsidence related to thrusting began migrating toward the craton, only to be captured by the Laramide structures. Erosion of the uplifts filled the adjoining basins to spillpoints. Later Cenozoic regional uplift or climate changes have resulted in exhumation of the basins. This process is continuing today and was accelerated during the Pleistocene glacial event.

Class Descriptions and Register Online: www.pttcrockies.org For more information, contact Mary Carr, 303.273.3107, [email protected]

March 201312Vol. 62, No. 2 12

RMAG Foundation Sponsors the Excellence in Teaching of Earth Science Award

In 2000, the RMAG Foundation instituted an award to honor elementary or secondary school teachers who have promoted teaching of earth science to K-12 students. The winner receives a commemorative plaque and a $1000 cash award provided by the RMAG Foundation, and is recommended as the RMAG’s candidate to compete for the AAPG Rocky Mountain Section, Teacher of the Year award. This award honors the best earth science teacher in the Front Range area from either an elementary or secondary school. If you are a teacher or know a of teacher who could be a candidate please contact the K-12 Public Outreach Committee through the RMAG office at 910 16th Street, Suite 1125, Denver, CO 80202, by telephone at 303-573-8621, or email at [email protected] to receive an application form. The application deadline this year is Friday May 3, with the winner to be announced on or before May 11.

»

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March 201314Vol. 62, No. 2 14


Figure 2: After Sonnenberg, 2011 and Longman, Luneau and Landon, 1998. This is a type log of northern Denver Basin showing gamma ray, combination resistivity and compensated neutron-density logs. This data is used to subdivide the Niobrara into ten intervals that can be correlated across the Denver Basin and into adjacent areas. The chalks exhibit lower gamma and higher resistivity. Also note the neutron/density cross over in the B and C Chalks, usually the horizontal drilling reservoir targets. The chalks are generally high in CaCO3 (70-80%), low in clays and very brittle leading to natural fracturing and greatly enhanced reservoir porosity. The marls are higher in gamma, higher in organic carbon and are thought to be the source rocks of the Niobrara. The marls have less CaCO3, more clay and are therefore more ductile for fracturing. Also note the Sharon Springs Member of the Pierre Shale just above the top of the Niobrara with the high gamma marker bed.

Stratigraphy and Type Log


Lead Story

Figure 3: LPlot mud log of the Sharon Springs (base of Pierre Shale) to Niobrara A Marl. I am going to break from conventional wisdom and discuss these layers in the order that you see them as a well is drilled versus in ascending order of time and deposition. The Sharon Springs Bentonite Marker Bed occurs 15-30 feet TVD above the top of the Niobrara. The characteristic double peak (red arrow) of the gamma ray goes up to 250 API at the marker bed. At the top of the Niobrara is a thin unnamed marl, 15-30 feet TVD thick with a gamma around 150 API. The A Chalk (Upper Chalk) is generally 10-30 feet thick TVD with low gamma around 100-115 API. Beneath the A Chalk, the A Marl (Upper Chalky Shale) is 35-60 feet TVD thick where the gamma goes back up to 130-150 API. The higher gamma often is related to bentonite beds (high radioactive potassium) or high Uranium content associated with high organic content.


March 201316Vol. 62, No. 2 16


Figure 4: Pierre Shale: 6450’ TVD The Sharon Springs right above the top of the Niobrara. Note: all TVDs are approximate as these photographs are taken from numerous wells across the Denver Basin and I am correlating them back to the example mudlog.Note the pyrite (yellow arrow) and oil sheen (black arrow) that can sometimes be visible and the bentonite that fluoresces (red arrow). The Sharon Springs is a dark gray to black shale that organic rich, slightly bituminous, and deposited in an anoxic marine environment. When drilling above the Sharon Springs Marker the gamma is still below 100 API. As you approach the top of Niobrara, the Pierre Shale gets very platy and generally does not effervesce with HCl. The sandstone stringers that were abundant below the Tepee Buttes and just above this sample disappear and the shale appears organic rich. The Sharon Springs readily collapses and can give the drillers lots of problems. Big coarse platy chunks can be visible on the shaker screens. It is important to get the mud weight up around 10.5 to prevent sloughing. If the flaking off is abundant, the mud engineer may use Soltec or Baritrol (an asphalt product). This powder dissolves/melts if hot enough (above 126° F) and becomes part of the borehole wall cake. It is important to have the Intermediate Casing cover all of the Sharon Springs.


Lead Story

Figure 5: Pierre Shale: 6470' TVDThe Sharon Springs Marker Bed with abundant bentonite (red arrows) that brightly fluoresces. This bentonite marker bed is generally 15’- 25’ TVD above the top of the Niobrara and usually has disseminated pyrite (yellow arrow). It is not thick, but because the drilling is at an angle, it appears thicker. The gamma correlation shows a characteristic highly radioactive-high gamma double peak up to 280-300 API for 2 feet. This correlates with the Ardmore Bentonite, a 1-2” bed of yellowish-orange bentonite with biotite that is interbedded with dark gray shale. The type section is named after a quarry in Ardmore, SD and is used as a marker for Cretaceous rocks of the Great Plains. The bentonite is a volcanic ash derived from the Sevier Orogenic Belt in Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Western Wyoming.


March 201318Vol. 62, No. 2 18


Figure 6: Sharon Springs Marker Bed under ultra violet light. You can see the pieces of bentonite under the microscope as in the previous figure, but when in the fluorescent light box, they glow. The sample will have little or no effervescence with HCl.


Lead Story


Figure 7: 6495' TVD, Top of Niobrara. Note the framboidal pyrite crystals (yellow arrow), bentonite (red arrow) and the mottled chalk (blue arrow). The calcium carbonate of the Niobrara causes violent effervescence with HCl.

March 201320Vol. 62, No. 2 20


Figure 8: 6520' TVD Niobrara A ChalkNote the mottled chalk (blue arrow) and platy bentonite (red arrow). It is described as: Lt olive-black chalk, lt brown, lt gray, buff, m lt-m gy – m brn, sft – firm, subplty-sbblky, mot- stri, earthy luster, arg, calc mtx, cln fiz, tr pyr, sme-occ bent and bri yel mnrl flor. The Niobrara A Chalk is dark compared to B Chalk, i.e. it is not as clean as the B Chalk. The gamma drops from high (250 API) to low (110-115 API), but is higher gamma than B Chalk.

Figure 9: 6550' TVD A MarlThe A Marl is dark gray to dark brown, silty, with little or no mottling. The gamma increases to 130-150 API. The marls were deposited in more anoxic conditions than the chalks and have higher organic content. The log description is: m dk brn-gy, mod sft-firm, sbplty- sbblky, lam, slty ip, gty, arg tex, org/calc mtx, tr pyr, sme bent w/ lt yel flor, sme dism pyr. In outcrop, it is pale-yellowish-brown, fissile, chalky shale that contains many beds of bentonite and large concretionary masses of shaly limestone.


Lead Story


Figure 10: 6560' TVD A Marl with 10% bentonite. About 10-15’ TVD below the top of the A Marl there is a bentonite layer (red arrow) that is pale grey to white gray with brilliant yellow fluorescence. There are abundant disseminated pinpoint cubic pyrite and framboidal pyrite (John Witner, personal communication, 2010). In addition there are very few fossils in the A Marl. Also note the Lubra-beads (black arrow) in the center of the photograph, an additive to help with sliding. In weathered outcrop, there are hundreds of thin layers of rusty red bentonite clay from the fall of ash from repeated eruptions of volcanoes to the west – Nevada and Utah. These ash deposits can be traced for miles across the chalk-marl beds. They are used as marker units in describing the stratigraphy of the formation (Hattin, 1981).

Figure 11: 6570' TVD. Niobrara A Marl. Note the large framboidal pyrite crystal (yellow arrow) and the lack of fossils or bentonite.

March 201322Vol. 62, No. 2 22

State Geologist and Director of the Colorado Geological Survey, Dr. Vince

Matthews, retired on January 1, 2013. For CGS business: contact

Karen Berry, Acting State Geologist and Div is ion Director at karen.berry@

state.co.us and/or 303-866-2611, ext 8315.

Duncan McBane has moved to a new suite, McBane Energy Company,

100 N. 27th., Suite 330, Billings, MT, 59101. [email protected].

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Deep-Water Siliciclastic Reservoirs April 14-19, 2013Northern California Earlybird rates end March 15!

Basic Well Log Analysis April 15-19, 2013Austin, TX Earlybird rates end March 18!

Petrophysical Analysis and Integrated Approaches to the Study of Carbonate Reservoirs April 16-18, 2013Austin, TX Earlybird rates end March 18!

Clastic Reservoir Facies and Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis of Alluvial-Plain, April 20-26, 2013Shoreface, Deltaic, and Shelf Depositional Systems Utah Earlybird rates end March 22!

Basic Tools for Shale Exploration May 18, 2013Pittsburgh, PA (with AAPG Annual Meeting)

Integrating Data to Evaluate Shale Resources May 18-19, 2013Pittsburgh, PA (with AAPG Annual Meeting)

Faults in the Northern Appalachian Basin and Their Effects on Black Shale May 19, 2013Pittsburgh, PA (with AAPG Annual Meeting)

Application of Organic Petrology for Shale Resource Evaluation May 23, 2013Pittsburgh, PA (with AAPG Annual Meeting)

Summer Education Conference – 11 courses over 5 days! June 10-14, 2013Fort Worth, TX

Geology of Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park June 1-7, 2013Nevada

Play Concepts and Controls on Porosity in Carbonate Reservoir Analogs June 2-7, 2013Almeria, Spain

Folding, Thrusting & Syntectonic Sedimentation June 3-7, 2013Central Pyrenees, Spain

Lacustrine Basin Exploration June 9-16, 2013Utah

Short Courses

Short Courses

March 201324Vol. 62, No. 2 24

In Memoriam: Frank P. Sonnenbergby Dudley W. Bolyard

Frank P. Sonnenberg, a longtime member of RMAG, passed away January 12, 2013. Born August 18, 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Frank was an Eagle Scout, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, serving in the Asia-Pacific theater and receiving the rank of lieutenant, and later earned B.A. and M.S. degrees in geology from the University of Cincinnati.

While he was still a student, Frank began an amazing career in petroleum geology as Assistant Geologist with the United Fuel Gas Company. In 1949 he joined Amerada Petroleum Corporation as a geologist for the Billings, Montana District. Frank is well remembered for his association in 1951 with the No. 1 Iverson well, which was the first oil discovery in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin. He remained

in Billings until 1958, serving Gulf Oil Corporation as District Geologist and Herman and George R. Brown as Rocky Mountain Representative, and becoming President of the Billings Geological Society.

Frank was involved in both foreign and domestic exploration and development from 1958 until 1975. He served many companies, including Chaco (Tenneco), Union Texas, Monsanto and Murphy, in a

variety of managerial capacities. In 1973 he became Vice President and Regional Manager in London for Champlin Petroleum Corporation, directing activities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Frank returned to Denver with Champlin in 1975. In 1978 he became Rocky Mountain District Manager with Michigan-Wisconsin Pipeline Co. and later was elevated


In Memoriam: Frank P. Sonnenberg

Our business is about more than exploration and production. It’s about improving the lives of those around us by

helping the communities in which we live and work grow and prosper. It’s about providing our employees with

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to Director of Exploration for that company in Houston. He returned to Denver in 1981 as Vice President of Natural Resources Corporation. In 1984 he became a consulting geologist.

He joined AAPG in 1948 and received the Pioneer Award in 2000. He chaired the DPA’s board of certification for several years, received its Distinguished Service Award in 1994, and served in the House of Delegates from 1988 until 1991. While in Singapore, Frank was a founder of the Southeast Asia Petroleum Exploration Society and became its first president. He was an active member of RMAG, serving on several committees and on the Board of Directors as Counselor from 1998 to 1999. He also was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Society of Economic Mineralogists and Paleontologists. Frank also published several professional papers concerning the Appalachian, Rocky Mountain, and Bolivia regions.

Fluent in Spanish, Frank always carried a small dictionary and notepad to increase his vocabulary. On trips to Mexico, he was quick to make friends with native people, who would share with him almost everything they knew about the local geography, culture, food and drink. He also had the ability to quickly understand the geology of places he had never seen before, and to appreciate how the archaeology and modern history related to the geology.

Frank is survived by three sons: Stephen, a second generat ion petroleum geologist and past president and Honorary Member of both RMAG and AAPG, Golden, CO; Daniel, a landscape architect, Houston, TX; and David, CLU, CHFC, San Antonio, TX. Frank also has one grandson, W. Case Sonnenberg, Landman, Golden, CO.

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Figure 12: LPlot mudlog of bottom of the A Marl to the B Chalk. The B Chalk Bench (Middle Chalk) is 25-35’ TVD thick in Denver-Julesburg Basin. The B Chalk is cleaner than the A Chalk with low gamma (70-80 API). Usually the gas goes up. The log description for the B Chalk is: m-m lt gy – brn, sft- firm, sme brit, sbplty-sbblky, mottled-striated, tr wh frag, earthy luster, clean fiz, tr pyr. The upper part of the B Chalk has characteristically more marl content, higher gamma and is a darker chalk. The bottom half of the B Chalk is the main target zone (between the two red arrows).

Editorial HELPWanted

Can you help edit the Outcrop?

One of the editors needs a three to four month leave starting in April. Please contact one of the editors listed on page 3 if you can help.


Lead Story


Figure 13: Oil shows under fluorescent light. 6300-6900’ MD. The Sharon Springs Member of the Pierre Shale (6300-6550’ MD) does have some weaker oil shows, but there are strong oil shows when drilling in both the chalks and marls of the Niobrara.

March 201328Vol. 62, No. 2 28


Figure 14: 6600’ TVD Niobrara B Chalk with White Specks (blue arrow). The white specks are coccolith-rich fecal pellets, probably formed by pelagic copepods that thrived during times of high sea level as water circulated through the seaway (Longman, Luneau and Landon, 1998).

Figure 15: 6615’ TVD B Chalk with some bentonite with disseminated pyrite.


Lead Story


Figure 16: 6625’ TVD B Chalk Target Zone. The target zone is the bottom half of the B Chalk. It is an approximately 16’ TVD thick porous zone that has high resistivity and a cross over area between the neutron and density curves. It is mottled white (blue arrow).

Figure 17 6640’ TVD Niobrara B Chalk base/Top of B Marl with Inoceramus and trace bentonite with disseminated pyrite (red arrow). At the bottom of B Chalk/top of B Marl interface there are abundant Inoceramus and fossils (white arrows). In outcrop it is a gray hard platy chalk separated by beds of gray hard fissile chalky shale.

March 201330Vol. 62, No. 2 30

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AAPG Awards NominationsThe RMAG Professional Awards Committee is seeking

recommendations to present to AAPG for its 2014 Award Recipients for the following summarized categories.

Please submit nominations to [email protected] by March 15, 2013.

For complete award descriptions and nomination forms, go to http://www.aapg.org/business/honors_awards/nominations/index.cfm

Sidney Powers Memorial Award – given in recognition of distinguished and outstanding contributions to petroleum geology.

Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award – given in recognition of outstanding and exceptional leadership in the petroleum geosciences.

Honorary Member Award – given to those who have distinguished themselves by their service and devotion to the science and profession of petroleum geology and to the AAPG.

Outstanding Explorer Award – given in recognition of distinguished and outstanding achievement in exploration for petroleum or mineral resources.

Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award – given in recognition of a singular achievement in petroleum geoscience research.

Distinguished Service Award – given to those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG.

Grover E. Murray Memorial Distinguished Educator Award – given in recognition of distinguished and outstanding contributions to geological education.

Special Award – given to recognize individuals or organizations that do not qualify for one of the existing awards.

Public Service Award – given to recognize contributions by members of AAPG to public affairs and to encourage geologists to take a more active part in such affairs.



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Keynote Speaker Thomas Jorden

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Figure 18 6650’ TVD B Marl with some white specks. Black arrow points to a walnut shell (Lost Circulation Material). The white piece on the right is a fossil. The B Marl is the most oil-prone source rock of the Niobrara Formation.

Figure 19 6690’ TVD B Marl with abundant bentonite (light pieces) with trace disseminated pyrite (red arrows). There is also some calcite and fossils (white arrow). In the B Marl, the bentonite is generally devoid of pyrite, or if present it has very fine grained pinpoint cubes (John Witner, personal communication, 2010).



Figure 20 B Marl Inoceramus (white arrow) in outcrop Near Pueblo Science Center. Note the interbedded, more massive bioturbated section (chalk) versus the fissle, laminated, non-bioturbated section (marl) where the Inoceramus are well preserved.

Figure 21: Close up of an Inoceramus in same outcrop with long structural prisms (white arrow). The brown is probably oxidized pyrite.

Lead Story


March 201334Vol. 62, No. 2 34

Figure 22: 6700’ TVD Bottom of B Marl with abundant Inoceramus prisms (white arrows).There is also abundant bentonite with trace pyrite that fluoresces (red arrows). You generally do not see this many fossils in the A Marl. Note Lubra beads (black arrow).

Figure 23 6720’ TVD C Chalk with Inoceramus prisms (white arrows). The C chalk does not have a distinct top, but is very interbedded with marl. This description is: 80% CHK: m - m lt gy - brn, sft - firm, sbplty -sbblky, mot-stri, rthy lstr, arg, calc mtx, cln fiz, v calc; 20% MRL: m dk - m gy - brn, mod firm - sft, brit, sbplty -sbblky, mot-lam, rthy lstr, slty ip, tr Inoc, n bent, v calc.



SummarySharon Springs• – Ardmore bentonite marker with double peak high gamma and brilliant mineral fluorescence, very little effervescence with HCl, hot shale, anoxic, platy, dark gray to black shales, bituminous, large pieces on the shale shaker, 15-30’ TVD above top of Niobrara, not thick but drilling at a high angle

Top of Niobrara• – violent effervescence with HCl indicating calcareous, lighter in color than the Sharon Springs, smaller pieces, 15-30’ TVD thick unnamed marl

A Chalk• – not as clean as B Chalk, few fossils if any, some bentonite, mottled, lighter color, 10-30’ TVD thick

A Marl• – large framboidal pyrite crystals and bentonite bed, little or no fossils, truly a marl, darker

and higher gamma than chalks, silty, organic rich, 35-60’ TVD thick

B Chalk• – cleaner than A or C Chalks, white specks, some fossils, target zone in lower half, mottled, lighter color, trace to some bentonite, base has some fossils + Inoceramus prisms, 25-35’ TVD thick

B Marl• – more interbedded with chalk, bentonite with pinpoint disseminated pyrite, abundant fossils especially near the bottom with Inoceramus prisms, darker and higher gamma than chalks, silty, organic rich, 35-50’ TVD thick

C Chalk• – interbedded with marl-especially in the top, some fossils, Inoceramus prisms, target zone also in lower half, 30-40’ thick

Chalks• – 70-110 API gamma; Marls – 120-150 API gamma


Lead Story


Lead Story Lead StoryContinued from page 35

References CitedGilbert, G.K. 1895, Sedimentary Measurement of Cretaceous Time,

Journal of Geology, V.3, p. 121-127.Hattin, Donald E., 1981, Petrology of the Smoky Hill Member, Niobrara

Chalk (Upper Cretaceous), in Type Area, Western Kansas, AAPG B65 5, p. 831-849.

Kauffman, Earl G., 1977, Geological and Biological Overview: Western Interior Cretaceous Basin, RMAG, MG14, 3-4, p. 75-99.

Kauffman, Earl G., 1977, Second Day, Upper Cretaceous Cyclothems, Biotas and Environments, Rock Canyon Anticline, Pueblo, Colorado, RMAG, MG14, 3-4, p129-152.

King, Phillip B., 1959, 1977, the Evolution of North America, Princeton University Press, 197 p.

Longman, Mark W., Barbara A Luneau and Susan M. Landon, 1998, Nature and Distribution of Niobrara Lithologies in the Cretaceous

Western Interior Seaway of the Rocky Mountain region, RMAG MG35 4, p. 137-170.

Scholle, Peter A. and Richard M. Pollastro, 1985, Sedimentology and Reservoir Characteristics of the Niobrara Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Kansas and Colorado: Rocky Mountain Carbonate Reservoirs, a Core Workshop: SEPM Core Workshop 7, p. 447-482.

Sonnenberg, Stephen A., 2011, The Niobrara Petroleum System: A New Resource Play in the Rocky Mountain Region, Chap. 1 of Estes-Jackson, Jane E. and Donna S. Anderson, RMAG Revisiting and Revitalizing the Niobrara in the Central Rockies, p. 13-32.

Witner, John, 2010, personal communication, Columbine Logging.

»COVER PHOTO (IN ITS ENTIRETY)

The top of a Niobrara outcrop being measured by Kelly Bruchez who is completing his Master’s in Geology with Dr. Steve Sonnenberg at the Colorado School of Mines. The outcrop is located along the Blue River on the Jones Ranch approximately 3.5 miles south of Kremmling, Colorado. Photo by Larry Rasmussen.

www.rmag.org37OUTCROPMarch 201336Vol. 62, No.2

March 201338Vol. 62, No. 2 38

RMAG 2013 SUMMIT SPONSORS

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In the Pipeline

If you have any events that you would like to post in this column, please submit via email to Holly Sell at [email protected] or to the RMAG office at [email protected] for consideration.

March 1, 2013RMAG GeoLand Ski Day. Copper Mountain Resort.

March 4, 2013DGS Student Challenge Bowl. Hard Rock Café.

March 5, 2013DGS and RMAG 3D Seismic Symposium. Sheraton

Hotel – Downtown Denver. 19th Annual 3D Seismic Symposium. See page 31 for more information.

March 6, 2013RMAG Monthly Luncheon. Denver City Center

Marriot Speaker: Terry Gerlach Topic: Volcanic Versus Anthropogenic CO2.

March 7, 2013AAPG Young Professionals Happy Hour. 4:30 p.m.,

Paramount, email [email protected] for more information..

March 7-8, 2013PTTC Course “Source Rocks 101.” Petroleum Club,

Billings Montana.

March 8, 2013DIPS Luncheon. Utica Shale Exploration in the Lake

Champlain Region of Southern Quebec Kevin Corbett. Contact Anders Elgerd: [email protected].

March 12, 2013

DGS ExCom Meeting. FairfieldNodal Offices, Downtown Denver. Contact Ashley Tompkins [email protected].

March 14, 2013DGS Monthly Luncheon. Wynkoop Brewery.

Presentation and Speaker TBD.

March 19DWLS Luncheon. Relationship between Porosity and

Water Saturation: Methodology to Distinguish Mobile from Capillary Bound Water and/or Differing Rock Types-Michael Holmes Digital Format.

March 26, 20136RMS-SEPM Luncheon. Stratigraphic trapping

mechanisms in the Iles Formation Steve Cumella and Mark Kirschbaum. Reservations must be made by 10:00 AM the Friday prior. For additional information: RMS-SEPM website.

March 28, 2013SIPES Luncheon. Speaker: Orion Skinner. “The

Pronghorn Discovery in the Bakken Play. For reservations, call 303.730.2967.

Pioneer Award – given to long-standing members who have contributed to AAPG and who have made meaningful and significant contributions to the science of geology.

Geosciences in the Media Award – given in recognition of notable journalistic achievement in any medium which contributes to public understanding of geology, energy resources, or the technology of oil and gas exploration.

AAPG Awards NominationsContinued from page 30

»

»

March 201340Vol. 62, No. 2 40


Luncheon will be held at the Marriott City Center at California and 17th St. Please check the event listing in the lobby for the room. Check-in/walk-in registration begins at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at 12:00 noon, and the talk begins at 12:20 p.m. The luncheon price is $30.00. To listen only to the talk, walk-in price is $10.00. If you make a reservation and do not attend the luncheon, you will be billed for the luncheon. Online registration closes at 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before the luncheon. Cancellations are not guaranteed after that time.

LunCheon ReSeRvatIonS & InfoRMatIon

Your attendance is welcomed and encouraged. Bring a guest

or new member!

Call 303-573-8621email [email protected],

or register online.

RMAG Monthly Luncheon Program – March 6th

On average, humanity’s ceaseless emissions release an amount of CO2 comparable to that of the 1980 Mount St. Helens paroxysm every 2.5 hours, the 1991 Mount Pinatubo paroxysm every 12 hours, and the estimated annual global volcanic CO2 every 2.5 days.

Volcanic Versus Anthropogenic CO2By Terry Gerlach

The climate change debate has revived the belief, widespread among climate change skeptics, that volcanoes emit more CO2 than the 37 billion metric tons per year from human activities. In fact, CO2 emissions from human activities dwarf all published estimates of the annual global volcanic CO2 emission rate—i.e., annual CO2 output from divergent plate, intraplate, and convergent plate subaerial and submarine volcanoes. In 2010, human-generated CO2 was about 140 times greater than global volcanic CO2.

On average, humanity’s ceaseless emissions release an amount of CO2 comparable to that of the 1980 Mount St. Helens paroxysm every 2.5 hours, the 1991 Mount Pinatubo paroxysm every 12 hours, and the estimated annual global volcanic CO2 every 2.5 days. The claim that volcanic CO2 exceeds anthropogenic CO2 requires either unbelievable volumes of magma production or unbelievable concentrations of magmatic CO2. Scaling up volcanism to the hypothetical intensity required to generate CO2 emissions at anthropogenic levels suggests that humanity’s CO2 emissions may already exceed the annual CO2 emissions of several continental flood basalt eruptions or the CO2 output of 1-10 explosive super eruptions every year.

»

March 201342Vol. 62, No. 2 42

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Date Speaker Title

1/8/13 Geoff Plumlee (USGS Denver)

Linking geology and health to help understand a deadly outbreak of childhood lead poisoning from

artisanal gold mining, northwest Nigeria

1/15/13 Andy Manning (USGS Denver)

Potential links between climate change and water quality degredation in a mineralized watershed

1/22/13 Zach Sharp (U of New Mexico)

Chlorine isotope geochemistry of Earth, Moon, and beyond

2/5/13 Becky Flowers ( U of Colrado)

Epeirogeny of eustasy? Deciphering the rise and fall of continental

interiors and implications for mantle dynamics

2/19/13 Kate Whidden (USGS Denver)

Distal Facies Variability within the Upper Triassic part of the Otuk Formation in Northern Alaska

3/5/13 David John (USGS Menlo Park)

Miocene volcanoes, hot springs, and gold deposits in the Bodie Hills, California and Nevada

3/26/13 Christian Teyssier (U of Minnesota)

Oceanic and continental core complexes

4/9/13 Julie Roberge (Mexican Polytechnical Inst.)

Petrogenesis and metal budget of the Chichinautzin monogenetic field, Mexico: A melt

inclusion study

4/23/13 Joe Colgan (USGS Menlo Park)

Regional tectonic setting of Miocene extension and magmatism in the northern Great Basin

5/14/13 Dirk Wallschlaeger (Trent University)

Soluble arsenic-sulfur compounds in ambient waters - where geochemical knowledge gaps and

analytical problems collide

5/28/13 Darius Semmons (USGS Denver)

Where's the value? New approaches to mapping the benefits we derive from nature

USGS Rocky Mountain Science Seminar (Lecture Hall, Building 25, 10:30 am)Lecture Hall, Building 25, Denver Federal Center, 10:30 a.m.

Seminar Already Held





March 201344Vol. 62, No. 2 44

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor: How to spell “frack”

Here is a suggestion. Don’t spell it. Don’t say it, either.

Don’t use the pejorative slang. Instead – as you write and speak – use more informing descriptions like:

“hydraulic fracturing”“reservoir stimulation”“reservoir enhancement”“production improvement”“revenue improvement”“added value”“tax revenue enhancement”“job creation”

Take every opportunity to frame the process for what it is – a technique that improves oil and gas recovery, creating a revenue benefit for communities with minimal harm to aquifers. Tell the truth about the process in its constructive role.

Wordsmiths who war against prosperity and the petroleum industry, are expert at emphasizing risks with slang and sloppy ideas. They raise fear and loathing in “low-information” citizens who vote.

Geoprofessionals can lead, in discussions and writing, toward an appreciation of the benefits of hydraulic fracturing in true perspective.The facts support a huge benefit-to-harm ratio. Best regards,

Ron W. Pritchett Lone Tree, Colorado 80124 o) 303-228-4168 c) 303-829-9606

Ron W. Pritchett

Letter to the Editor


New MembersWelcome to our new RMaG Members...

Paul BaclawskiPaul works at Devon Energy as a Geologist.

adriana BarriosAdriana works at Venoco Inc. as a Geology

Technician.

alex BehrensAlex works at Weatherford as a Technical Sales

Representative.

Gregory BellGreg works at Coal Gas Technology Co.

Remelle Burton olsonRemelle works at Summit Gas Resources, Inc. as

a Geologist.

Glenda ChapmanGlenda works at Agri Land Mineral Management,

LLC.

Justin DealJustin works at Decollement Consulting as the

Business Development Director.

Bob flournoyBob works at Energy Investment Partners, LLC.

Patrick fothergillPat works at Schlumberger as a Principal

Geologist.

Gregory GromadzkiGregory works at QEP.

Simon hughesSimon works at Weatherford Laboratories.

Gregory JenningsGreg works at Energen Resources.

Bruce KaiserBruce works as a Business Development Manager.

Maxwell LafonMaxwell works at Slawson Exploration Company, Inc

as a Geologist.

Weston LafonWeston is a student member.

heather LaReauHeather works at Encana as a Geologist.

Blaine MartinBlaine works at Bill Barrett Corp. as a Geological

Technician.

Bob PettyBob works at Nautilus as a Technical Manager.

Justin PiersonJustin works at Pioneer Natural Resources.

erin ReagenErin works at The Reagen Group as a Sr.

Consultant.

natasha RiggNatasha works at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

Joseph SertichDr. Sertich works at the Denver Museum of Nature

& Science.

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March 201346Vol. 62, No. 2 46

David SmithDavid lives in Denver, Colorado.

Isaac SmithIsaac works at Columbine Logging as a

Geologist.

David StichDave works at True Oil LLC as a Geologist.

andrew tiptonAndy works at Noble Energy, Inc. as a Senior

Petrophysicist.

David velozziDavid works at NEOS GeoSolutions as a

Geoscientist.

Michael WalshMike works at Arcadis.

Matthew WardMatt works at Fidelity Exploration and Production

as a Senior Geologist.

New Members

»

Continued from page 45

For Independents and Small Companies

• JLog® Petrophysical Software • Consulting and Training Jack Bowler – Bowler Petrophysics, Inc.

303 860 1641 www.jlog.biz [email protected]

Editorial HELPWanted

Can you help edit the Outcrop?

One of the editors needs a three to four month leave starting in April. Please contact one of the editors listed on page 3 if you can help.

Listening intently to Douglas Waples, PhD at the January 24, 2013 RMAG Source-rock Kinetics: New Methods of Determining Them, and Novel Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Especially Unconventional course.

Laura Mauro, 2nd Vice President, thanking Douglas Waples.

RMAG Source-rock Kinetics


Geologic Art ShowThe editors invite the artists of RMAG to submit a picture

of their geologic art (jpeg or tiff, 300 dpi or greater). Send along a caption with an explanation of the subject matter and media details, when created, and why. The best submissions will appear in a future issue in our “virtual art show.” [email protected]

A d ve r t i s i n g d o e s n ' t g o unnoticed, and by having your business card or larger ad in color, the impact is much greater to potential customers. Since there is no additional charge for color for our online publication, you can use full color for any ad without any additional charges.

See page 3 of this issue for our ad rates and contact the RMAG office today for more details on how to submit your ad.

Take advantage of the transition we made from offering the printed Outcrop

to now posting it on the web.

Contact the RMAG office today for more information!

Color DOES make an impact!

RMAG Office: 303-573-8621Fax: 303-628-0546

[email protected] • www.rmag.org

Executive Director Emily Tompkins [email protected]

Office & Programs Manager Carrie Veatch, MA [email protected]

ALL Outcrop Ads are in Color at

No Extra Charge!

Geologic Art ShowThe editors invite the artists of RMAG to submit a picture

of their geologic art (jpeg or tiff, 300 dpi or greater). Send along a caption with an explanation of the subject matter and media details, when created, and why. The best submissions will appear in a future issue in our “virtual art show.” [email protected]


March 201348Vol. 62, No. 2 48

Call for abstracts/speakers for the RMAG 2013 SPRING SYMPOSIUM

“MAKING MONEY WITH SCIENCE”

Tuesday, April 23

at the Denver Marriott City Center

RMAG is accepting additional Speakers to present case studies on:

Using Science to Profitably Explore for or Develop Oil and Gas Fields

Chris Wright – CEO of Liberty Resources

will be Keynote Speaker

Also presenting is Dick Leonard and Maynard Johnson reviewing case studies utilizing production logging, proppant and fluid tracers to optimize completion

effectiveness

Deadline for abstract submittal is February 22

[email protected] RMAG

910 16th Street, Suite 1125 Denver, CO 80202

www.rmag.org

RMAG 2013 SPRING SYMPOSIUMCALL FOR ABSTRACTS/SPEAKERS

for the

March 201348Vol. 62, No. 2


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March 201350Vol. 62, No. 2 50

March 2013 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Advertisers Index

RMAG Luncheon, Speaker:

Terry Gerlach

DWLS Luncheon

DGS ExCom Meeting

SIPES Luncheon

RMS-SEPM Luncheon

EASTER

DGS Student Challenge

Bowl

DAYLIGHT SAVING(start)

ST. PATRICK'S

DAY

GeoLand Ski Day

DGS/RMAG 3D Seismic

Symposium PTTC Course

DIPS Luncheon

AAPG Young Professionals Happy Hour

DGS Luncheon

AAPG .............................2, 23, 40

Bowler Petrophysics .............. 46

Breckenridge Expl. Inc. ......... 42

Canadian Discovery ............... 25

Core Lab ................................. 24

Decollement Consulting, Inc 13

Discovery Group ..................... 19

Dolan Integration Group ........ 12

Donovan Brothers Inc. ........... 45

Donze, Terry ...............................6

Geosteering ............................ 12

Karo, James C. ....................... 13

Kestrel Geoscience, LLC ....... 27

Kluth and Associates ................5

Leaverite Exploration Inc. ..... 18

MJ Systems ............................ 30

Mazzullo Energy Corp. ........... 35

Noble Energy .......................... 25

PTTC ........................................ 11

Quantum Water Consulting ... 13

RPM Geologic, LLC ...................5

SPE, AAPG, SEG ........................2

Vista GeoScience, David Seneshen ..................... 39

Vista GeoScience, John V. Fontana .........................6

Whitehead, Neil H., III ...............8

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Documents

March 2013 Outcrop